IPL 2014 News

A miffed Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir today described his side’s 10-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here as something which he has never seen on a cricket field.

In one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the history of IPL, Rajasthan came from nowhere to register an improbable victory against KKR.

Chasing a victory target of 171, KKR were sailing along at 121 for no loss with Gambhir (54) and Robin Uthappa (65) cruising before losing an incredible six wickets for the addition of just two runs in a space of nine deliveries, which led to the disappointing loss.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow. I have not seen this kind of cricket,” Gambhir said after the match. “We have to move on. We still have eight games left.

We still need to work on bowling as apart from Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan, others need to take the responsibility,” he said.

“It was a nice way to close out a game. That’s what we talk about in our team set up. PT (Tambe) just keeps going and going, getting big batsmen out all the time. He deserves a pay rise and he is making my life easier for sure,” he said.

Asked about his three-wicket burst in the same over — 15th — which opened the floodgates for his side, Watson said, “Definitely, few things went my way in that over. Had not had much of an impact with the ball, so it was good to get those wickets.”

Man of the Match Tambe, who also took the purple cap for becoming the highest wicket-taker, said, “The confidence the team gives me, I will never forget. This was my first hat-trick. At this level you have to keep the energy throughout.”

Back to winning ways, defending champions Mumbai Indians would look to exploit home advantage once again to carry forward their new-found momentum but it won’t easy as they face a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League match.

Mumbai Indians: MI witnessed a terrible outing in the UAE leg of the tournament as they returned winless. But back in the familiar territory, the Rohit Sharma-led side snapped their dismal five-match losing streak with a five-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.

The stadium was a mini fortress for MI which could not be breached in eight attempts last year and the title holders certainly enjoyed the home advantage against the Punjab franchise when they secured their first win after five losses, in the process snapping KXIP’s five-match winning streak.

It has been Mumbai’s batting, more than their bowling, which had caused their slump in the tournament, but they would be encouraged by the collective batting performance in the last game. MI is still trying to figure a solid pair at the top to give them a good start. They have tried a few combinations with skipper Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Michael Hussey, Ben Dunk and C M Gautam, but none has yielded the desired result. The middle-order that boasts of New Zealand’s Corey Anderson and explosive West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has looked strong in the last few games. Anderson, who holds the record for the fastest century in ODIs, found his touch against KXIP and was adjudged man-of-the-match for his 25-ball 35. Pollard too has been in good form in the last two games with his blistering knock of 48-ball 78 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and an unbeaten breezy 12-ball 28 against KXIP.

The Governing Council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will meet in Mumbai tomorrow to take stock of the first leg of the Twenty20 league that was held from April 16-30 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“We are meeting tomorrow to take stock of the tournament’s matches which were held in the UAE. We also have some other things to be tied up,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told PTI from Vadodara. Patel hinted that the eliminator scheduled in Chennai on May 28 could be shifted to Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

“That decision would also be taken, about whether the eliminator is to be shifted to the CCI,” Patel said without divulging the reasons. The M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is scheduled to hold the first Qualifier on May 27 followed by the eliminator the next day.

Delhi Daredevils vice-captain Dinesh Karthik feels playing their next four games at home gives the struggling unit a chance to bounce back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014.

Things have not gone according to plan for Daredevils, who built a fresh squad at the auction thinking the strategy would work for them in the IPL 7 after getting the wooden spoon last season. They are placed seventh out of eight teams after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leg of the IPL 2014.

Karthik said the team is eager to put up a good show at the Ferozeshah Kotla where it plays Rajasthan Royals first up.

“At the moment I don’t know what the expectations are of the team. We are looking forward to play good cricket for our home fans,” Karthik said after a practice session at the Palam Ground in Delhi on Friday.

“It is a very crucial phase of the tournament. If we can win a few games from here on and get some momentum going, that will be really good,” said the wicket-keeper batsman.

Asked about the significance of playing at home, Karthik replied: “You try and win as many matches on your home ground. You even pick your team at the auction thinking your best chance will be winning at home. Having said that, I think you need to pick up teams which are capable of doing well home and away.”

Though Daredevils can do better in all departments, the bowling looks their weakest link with not much variety in the spin department and injured pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile ruled out of the tournament. South African leggie Imran Tahir is expected to be Coulter-Nile’s replacement but he is reportedly having issues in getting the Indian visa.

“Definitely we are considering getting an extra spinner. We will sit down and finalise on that soon,” said Karthik when asked about the Australian’s replacement.

May 2, 2014 The first match of the India leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 has been delayed due to rain. Chennai Super Kings are taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi. Interestingly, it is a home game for the Chennai Super Kings, although it was the home venue for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2013. Click here for the live scorecard of the IPL 2014 game between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders The rain started coming down after the toss was done. MS Dhoni had won the toss and chose to bat first. Traditionally, the pitch at Ranchi has helped spinners and both sides would bank on those players to deliver the punch for them in this game.

Currently, Chennai are second on the points table with four wins out of five games in the UAE leg. On the other hand, Kolkata are placed fourth and that is because of the net run rates. There are three other teams with two wins, but Kolkata have a superior net run rate and that places them on the fourth spot.

Clearing the way for the hosting of IPL matches at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, the Delhi High Court Thursday directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to give a provisional occupancy certificate to the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) for the event.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Manmohan also directed the DDCA to submit INR 50 lakh to the SDMC for clearance of property tax dues. The court’s direction came on the plea by the DDCA seeking provisional occupancy certificate to hold five IPL matches at the stadium. The first match of Delhi Daredevils (DD) will be held May 3.

The court, however, imposed a condition saying the DDCA will get the certificate only after procuring a no objection certificate for the stadium from the fire department and assistant electrical inspector. It further asked the DDCA to submit an affidavit stating that it will be held accountable if any untoward incident takes place due to non-compliance with any statutory norms by it.